In 5 years time

OK I was bored. So I decided to try and decide what the England team would look like in 5 years time. Obviously predicting this kind of thing is stupid given the timeframe and I have no particular insight into English cricket and the young players coming through - apart from the occasional report and tv game.

As you can see you need to suspend your belief a bit. Realistically speaking Broad is much more likely to be in the test team that J Overton in 5 years and a few of the players playing today are likely to be still around but meh who cares.

Some Thoughts

Cook still rocking the test captaincy, continually unfazed. Giving the ODI captaincy up for some respite. Stokes fulfilling his potential at 6 in the tests and given full licence to thrill in the shorter formats.

Alex Davies just knicking out Ben Foakes in the test team as WK. Buttler given gloves in ODI and T20 where he is used as the closer in the batting order. Kieswetter returned after a couple of years to the top of the order with a more complete game- unfortunate to not have test honours.

Ansari dominated county attacks in OD and T20 from an early age and was plucked by England early and then given the captaincy. Ice cold under pressure and spin bowling ever improving. Gregory finally got over his injury troubles to become an expert limited overs bowler with good lower order batting skills. Dernbach still ****ing the haterz - return to test and odi teams is imminent in place of a weary Finn. Stirling pledged his allegiance to the English and is biffing attacks for fun.

England dominant and pioneers of the modern ODI and T20 formats with world cups to their name. Team in transistion in test cricket- #4 in the rankings

A true work of my imagination.

Anyone with some time care to predict the makeup of some other nations in 5 years time?

More conservative than the OP, but I'm honestly a bit perplexed as to why you've dumped 30-year olds Prior and Anderson out of the Test side with no explanation. If Prior goes, I'd plump for Foakes over Davies but tbh that's only because I've never heard of the latter. Broad is also definately part of the long-term plans. He'll come good.

Bell will hold a spot for at least a couple of years. He'll probably make a comeback if he scores a good few county runs too, which he has every time he's gone back. If not, Adam Wheater is my bolter for the average county cricketer who ups his game Trott-style. Bopara can't be killed off, he'll be a squaddie.

Rafique over Panesar or Kerrigan is part wishful thinking and part playing with the selectorial tropes we see in international sides. I think they'll be impressed by his T20I captaincy.

Originally Posted by harsh.ag

Moeen killing it. Johnson's being thrashed. Poms going wild. A lady knitting on one of the upper seats.

Bowlers might change a bit and the openers and keeper could be anyone.

Originally Posted by Athlai

Jeets doesn't really deserve to be bowling.

Originally Posted by Dan

in the future where we're all social justice-y Cribb can ride down the street to pick up some raw milk from Coles on a motorised esky while smoking meth, firing an RPG into the air, and carrying the case of British-import Stella he's polygamously (and privately) married alongside a genderfluid Zambian businessperson and a coke-snorting 18-year-old cyborg girl.

More conservative than the OP, but I'm honestly a bit perplexed as to why you've dumped 30-year olds Prior and Anderson out of the Test side with no explanation. If Prior goes, I'd plump for Foakes over Davies but tbh that's only because I've never heard of the latter. Broad is also definately part of the long-term plans. He'll come good.

Bell will hold a spot for at least a couple of years. He'll probably make a comeback if he scores a good few county runs too, which he has every time he's gone back. If not, Adam Wheater is my bolter for the average county cricketer who ups his game Trott-style. Bopara can't be killed off, he'll be a squaddie.

Rafique over Panesar or Kerrigan is part wishful thinking and part playing with the selectorial tropes we see in international sides. I think they'll be impressed by his T20I captaincy.

I don't really see not, I mean I'd be flat out predicting our team in 5 months time so my XI's in 5 years time are always going to be a little unusual. I just wanted to give shout outs to players I rate like Faulkner, Burns, Handscomb, Siddle etc.

More conservative than the OP, but I'm honestly a bit perplexed as to why you've dumped 30-year olds Prior and Anderson out of the Test side with no explanation. If Prior goes, I'd plump for Foakes over Davies but tbh that's only because I've never heard of the latter. Broad is also definately part of the long-term plans. He'll come good.

Bell will hold a spot for at least a couple of years. He'll probably make a comeback if he scores a good few county runs too, which he has every time he's gone back. If not, Adam Wheater is my bolter for the average county cricketer who ups his game Trott-style. Bopara can't be killed off, he'll be a squaddie.

Rafique over Panesar or Kerrigan is part wishful thinking and part playing with the selectorial tropes we see in international sides. I think they'll be impressed by his T20I captaincy.

Originally Posted by Cabinet96

The side five years ago really wasn't that different, with the likes of Cook, Pietersen, Bell around, and Broad, Anderson, Swann and Prior making their returns/debuts within the next year.

I suspect the side we see in five years time won't be that different either.

Yes I mean chances are a lot of these guys will still be around although they will be coming to the end of their careers- and their replacements will more likely to be guys in the lions setup like James Taylor and Jonny Bairstow than a random youngster with potential. It just looks better in 5 years time if we return to this thread and I picked out a Thakor or Overton and he is miraculously in the test team

Originally Posted by Riggins

needs more ross whiteley.

I wrote a long list of every English player who could potentially play for England in the next 5 years and Whiteley was on the ODI and T20 list- but at present from my limited watching of his game his bowling isn't good enough to yet be considered a good allround option, and his batting although powerful isn't particularly consistent. He could definitely play for England though in the future but I'm guessing you'd know more about his game than me.

Not too sure about Adnan in 5 years (will be 32) but he has been keeping well and I don't know any other domestic keepers in Pak cricket atm. Similarly Fawad will also be 32 and at this stage it looks as if he will never get a chance but I can hope. With regards to Talha, he is a talent but hasn't been doing too well recently, however I would like to see him get a chance (did really well against England in the warm up).